Chicago: Tacqueria la Zacatecana

My friend and I have "date nights" every Thursday. For our first date night of the spring quarter, she invited me out for some carne asada tacos with her boyfriend and his relatives. The place was recommended by her boyfriend's cousin and her husband as having the best carne asada in Chicago. Armed with only the cross streets, a vague description of a "maroon awning", and a healthy dose of skepticism, we set out on our quest for tacos.

Luckily, the maroon awning wasn't hard to find at all:

When we entered Tacqueria la Zacatecana, the restaurant was completely devoid of customers. After double checking that we were indeed at the right place, we sat down at one of the many tables to wait for my friend's boyfriend's cousin and her husband (what a mouthful!) and to peruse the very simple menu written on a large white board.

Once all the members of our party arrived, we got to ordering.

When I'm trying out a Mexican restaurant for the first time, I go for the basics:

A carne asada taco and a lengua taco (each $2). Unfortunately, the carne asada wasn't all that it had been hyped up to be. To be frank, I usually find carne asada to be a bit dry, unless it comes in large slices of steak. I've yet to really have an exceptional carne asada taco. The lengua at Zacatecana was decent, but not the best I've ever had.

Zacatecana was a minor letdown, but nothing we couldn't recover from.

For now, I'll stick to Maxwell Street Market for my taco fix.

Tacqueria la Zacatecana

3024 N California

Chicago, IL 60618

(773) 279-8260